Cooling device for pneumatic tires.



A. B. CRAIG. v COOLING DEVICE FOR PNEUMATIG TIRES.

APPLIOATIQN FILED AUC-1.13, 1912. v 1,049,678. manned Jan. 7, 1913.

` wlTNEssEs A. B. CRAIG. COOLING DEVICE FOB. PNEUMATIC TIRES. I

' APPLICATION FILED AUGJB, 1912. 1,049,678.

A Patented Jan. 7,1913.

lNvENToR,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITN EssEs l ATTORNEY UNITED STATES ANDREW B. CRAIG, 0F TARKIO, MISSOURI.

COOLING DEVICE FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application tiled August 13, 1912. Serial No. 714,934. y

, Patentedaan. 7,1913.

To alt whom, t may concern:

Be it known 'that I, ANDREW B. CRAIG, a

citizen of the United -States, residing at Tarkio, in the county offAtchison and State 5. of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Cooling Device for Pneumatic Tires, of which the tollowing is a specification.

Thex invention relates. to for pneumatic tires.

The object ofthe present vinvention is to improve the construction of cooling devices for vpneumatic tires, more especially the cooling devices shown and described in an application led; by me on or about Sept.- 7, 1911, Serial No. 648,233, and in an applica-v tion filed by me Feb. 12, 1912, Serial .'No. 674,489, and to provide an exceedinglysim.- ple and inexpensive device adapted to dis-j pense with the radiator coils of the said apff plications, and equipped with means for causing a circulation of yair from the atmosfv phere circumferentially of the tire in close proximity to the 'imier tube to maintain the temperature within the same suiciently low to prevent the air within the` tirefrom expandlng 'and causing a blowout or otherI wise injuring the tire. Y

With these and other objects in view, t-h4 invention consists in thev construction an novel combination ofv parts hereinafter` fully described, illustrated in the accomv panying drawings, and p ,ointed out 1n the claims hereto appended; it being underf stood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construcf tion,wi thinthe scope of theclaims, may be resorted to without delparting. from the spirit or sacrificing any;of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings -Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view. of 'a pneumatically tired wheel, yequipped with a cooling device, constructed.. in accordancejwith this invention. Fig. 2 is'a transverse' sectional view 'of the same. Fig. 3, is an enlarged detail- Sectional view on the line 3 3 of FigZ '2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detall sectional viewI on the` lne55 o Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail longitudinal sectional view otl a portion of the tire, illustrating the arrangement of the supply and exhaust tubes. .Fig 7 isla detail view of aportion of a flexible metallic cooling tube.

Like numerals of reference designate cora cooling device yresponding parts in lall the figures of the drawings. -i

In the accompanying `drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a wheel having a pneumatic tire 2, consisting of an outer tube or shoe and an inner tube 3, provided at the rim 4v of the wheel with a circumfer. ential fold or tubular portion 5, receiving a circumferential cooling tube 6, which is of less diameterthan the interior ofthe pneu-1 mat-ic tire. l pneumatic tire is'of the clencher type, and engages the side ilangeslof, the rim, but the pneumatic tire may be mounted on a wheel lar circumferential portion 5 of the inner tube' fits around the cool-ing tube-andr the tire isadap't'ed to be removed from the wheel cooling tube 6, which is preferably con-l structed of metaL'may consist of an ordinary metallic tube, as shown', in Figs. 1, 2 and6 of the drawings, or it may consist of a-iexible metallic tube 7, as illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings. When vmade iiexible, it will be, constructed of fiat wire spirally coiled and having'the coils contiguous to *one another. The arrangement ofthe cool-ing tube on the rim of the vwheel and wit-hin the tire, as-shown, 4will render the to formxa conduitfor circulating the air around the tire in a-direction .circumferentially of the wheel. v which extends circumferentially around the rim "substantially the entire length of the tire, has its ends 8 and 9 slightly separated and closed by threaded plugs 10 and 11. The plugs, which have reduced threaded port-ions, engage Vinterior screw threads of Vthe cooling tube, and the shoulders .formed or heads of the plugs are provided with grooves to receive the head of a screw driver, or other suitable tool for rotating them. The end 8 of the cooling tube is ldially arranged supply tube 12,]extending through the felly 13 and rim 4 of the wheel and having its outer end 15 piercingY the vcooling tube and communicating with the interiorl thereof. The radially arranged connecting or supply tube 12 may be com- The outer tube or shoe of the in any other preferred manner. The tubuwithout detaching thecooling tube. The` flexiblemetallic tube 4sufliciently air tight r'I`he cooling tube 6 connected with the outer portion ofa ra-y so e bythe reduction of theplugs abut against Y the ends ofthe cooling tube. The outer ends posed of separate sections connected'by a coupling 16, and the outer section is threaded adjacent to the felly of the wheel and is equipped with a nut 17 seating against the` felly. The inner section of the radial connecting tube 12 pierces a cylindrical casing 18. and is connected by a coupling 19 with a tubular branch or tube section 20 of an air pump or tan casing 21. The cylindrical casing 18, which is arranged at the center ot the wheel at the outer side thereof, constitutes a false hub section or member and surrounds and receives the outer end of the I axle 22 and the axle box or bushing 23, and it yis provided at its inner portion with an annular attaching flange 24, secured byr .f afford access to the interior of the cylindrical casing, and it is provided with an air inlet opening3() to permit the air to pass into the cylindrical casing from the exterior and enter the eye of the fan casing 21. The rotary pump or fan comprises the said casing 21 and a plurality of blades 31,mount ed on radial arms 32 of a shaft 33 of anelectric motorA 34, extending through an opening 35 in the central portion of the wheel to the inner side or face of the same. 'When 'the fan is rotated, air isdrawn into the fan casing through the front opening 30 and is driven through the radial connecting tube into the end 8 of the cooling tube and is caused to circulate through the same longitudinally of the tire. The air discharges through a short exhaust tube 36, piercing the elly and rim of the wheel and the end 9 of the cooling tube and communicating with the interior thereof. Instead of driving the air through the short tube 36, the fanmay be used as a sucti `n or exhaust fan for drawing the air in through the short tube and discharging it through the eye of the fan and out through thel front opening 30 of the cylindrical casing* 18. Air from the outside atmosphere is circulated through the cooling tube with sufficient rapidity to maintain the air within the inner tube of the pneumatic tire at a sufficiently low temperature to prevent the same from expanding and causing a blowout or otherwise injuring the tire. The short tube has a threaded outer end 37 for a nut 38, which seats against the telly.

The electric motor, which may be of any preferred construction, is equipped with an arm 39 upon which is mounted a collecting wheel 40, arranged to run on an annular conductor 41 and operating within a circular The reeither a battery or dynamo, passes to the motor through the annular conductor 41, the collecting Wheel 40 and the arm 39, and 1t may return through t-he motor casing, the

axle box and the sleeve 43 to which a return wire 44 is connected. The arm 39 is insulated from the motor casing and is connected by a wire 45a with a binding post- 46 of the., 80

motor. Any other well known manner of wiring may, of course, be employed. The annular conductor is oppositely beveled at its periphery andthe collecting wheel is groo-ved to fit the annular conductor. The

guard, which is provided with a central opening to receive the axle sleeve, has a central tubular portion or flange 47, fitting the sleeve 43 and secured to the'same by a set screw 48, or other suitable fastening means.

The outer or peripheral portion 49 of the guard is curved transversely over the annu'- lar conductor and the collecting wheel and is arranged in spaced relation with the same.

No claim is made in the present application to the particular construction of the tire and the arrangement of the same with relation to the cooling tube, as this forms la portion of the subject-matter of the said application, filed Sept. 7, 1911, ISerial No. 648,233.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with a wheel havin a pneumatic tire, of a cooling devicel therefor including a circumferential cooling tube of less diameter-than and located within the pneumatic tire, an air pump mounted on the wheel and connected with the interior of the cooling tube for producing a circulation of air through the interior of the cooling tube, said cooling tube containing within it that portion of the air circulatingthrough the tire, and means for operating the pump.

2. The combination with a wheel having a pneumatic tire, of a circumferential cooling tube of less diameter than and located within the pneumatic tire and having its ends closed to each other, one end of the tube communicating with the atmosphere, a pump mounted on the wheel and connected with the other end of the cooling tube for producing a circulation of air through the same, and means for operating the ump.

3. The combinat1on with a wheel having a pneumatic tire, of a circumferential cooling tube of less diameter than and extending around the tire and having its ends spaced from each other, a short tube connected with one end of the cooling tube and extending through the rim of the wheel and communi-` eating with the outside atmosphere, a pumpmounted on the wheel and connected with the ot-her end ofthe cooling tube, and means torcperating the ump.

4. The combination with a wheel having a pneumatic tire, of a hollow casing mounted o n the wheel centrally thereof and forming a false-hub section or member andprovided with an opening communicating with thel outside atmosphere, a circumferential cooling tube extending longitudinally of the tire and having its ends spacedfrom each other,

one end of the cooling tube communicating with the outside atmosphere, a pump or fan located within the casing and having an eye communicating therewith, a tube extending from the casing to the rim of the wheel land tor provided with means for mounting it on an axle and contacting at its periphery with the collecting wheel, and cooling means for the tire including a pump .also mounted on the wheel and actuated by the motor.

6. The combination with a vehicle wheel having a pneumatic tire, of an electric motor mounted on the wheel and having an arm extending from the inner side of the vehicle wheel and provided with a collecting wheel, electrical connections having an annular conductor contacting with the collecting wheel and provided with means for mount-ing it on an axle, a guard having a central opening to receive the axle and extending over the annular conductor and the collecting Wheel, and cooling means for the' tire including a pump mounted on the wheel and actuated by the electric motor.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aiixed my signature in the 'presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW B. CRAIG. Witnesses: t

GEO. S. Lunxmnnrr, L. H; LUEKHARDT. 

